Not All Football Guys Available For Tiger Basketball

PRAIRIE GROVE —Tiger boys basketball returns three starters, Will Pridmore, Demarkus Cooper and Braden Riesner, from a team that showed flashes of brilliance last season.

They upstaged No. 1 Pea Ridge, 59-56, in the last week of the regular season, but lost in the first-round at district. Leading scorer Pridmore averaged better than 12-points-per-game as a 6-3 point-guard.

“Will got much more comfortable as we went along last year,” said Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston. ”He’s probably our best offensive threat. Defenses will focus on him a little bit more now. We’ve got to find balance in our offense.”

This year Pridmore sometimes slides to shooting guard with D.J. Pearson stepping into the role of playmaker.

“D.J. came off the bench last year, he got a lot of minutes last year,” Edmiston said. “We’ve got some experience coming back. We’ve got signs of talent. I feel pretty good right now.”

Riesner is recovering from a broken finger in the fall. His value isn’t always obvious, yet Edmiston appreciates a knack for excelling on defense.

“He’ one of our guys, who probably as a ball-defender, as a weakside defender, is probably our best,” Edmiston said. “He sees the floor, he makes a difference. He may not show up in that stat sheet, but he does the little things that need to be done.”

“He’s a little behind, we’re hoping he’ll catch up,” Edmiston said.

Young Potential

Younger players excite Edmiston with their potential. He said junior Riley Rhodes will be a key.

“He got some intermittent minutes for us last year,” Edmiston said. “Offensively, he’s a pretty good weapon for us. He’s got the ability to knock down the 3-point shot.”

Another junior with an opportunity to play his way into the lineup is Brandon Davidson.

Sophomore Graham Guenther (6-0) has grown and shot up in height. Although Guenther was out all of last year, he has become a force in practice.

“As a sophomore he brings a lot to the table from the standpoint of being competitive, forcing us to work in practice,” Edmiston said.

That reflects the attitude of the sophomore class, who despite the learning curve of stepping up to high school competition are having an impact.

“They are pushing our upper classmen to kind of hold the spots they’ve already got,” Edmiston said.

Football Delay

For the third consecutive season, Edmiston had to wait for a full squad with Prairie Grove making another deep run in the 4A State football playoffs.

“After the past two years hopefully we’ll be a little more acclimated to it,” Edmiston said.

Now that he is available Cooper presents an interior threat defenses must account for in the paint. Edmiston smiles when Cooper is described as “A poor man’s Charles Barkley.” Barkley, at 6-4 is the shortest man to ever lead the NBA in rebounding. To Edmiston, the analogy compares favorably.

“Demarkus is not over tall, but he’s got a big, strong body and he knows how to use it,” Edmiston said. “Towards the latter part of the year last season he was really effective.”

Edmiston likes the preseason efforts Cooper puts himself through even while playing tight end and defensive line for the Tiger football team.

“He’s ready, he’s prepared, he’s kind of readying himself to come over to see what he can do to make a difference,” Edmiston said.

Far from a one-dimensional player, Cooper has the ability to step out on the wing and snap a 3-pointer or find an open teammate cutting to the hoop.

“He’s got some pretty good instincts,” Edmiston said. “He’s got some finesse to him. That’s another asset of his which I think will bode pretty good for us.”

Football players Anthony Johnson and John David Elder are both very athletic, John David on the inside, Anthony on the outside, giving the Tigers some punch.

“Those two guys bring something to the table just from an athleticism standpoint,” Edmiston said.

Conference Outlook

Edmiston notes Gravette has a couple of really good players coming back and Shiloh Christian presents a challenge. Although Pea Ridge graduated the bulk of last season’s State Runner-Up squad, Edmiston isn’t counting them out.

“Shiloh has some scorers back and with the scheme they run they are hard to defend,” Edmiston said. “Pea Ridge lost a lot of players, but with the success they had, they will feed off that success from the previous year. I think they’re a team that’s going to have to be dealt with, as well.”